Baker Mayfield just got paid — Rick Stroud and Steve Versnick break down every angle of his stunning new deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Five days before kickoff in Cincinnati, the quarterback who swore he was done negotiating got a call from the Bucs' front office and agreed to a three-year, $165 million extension through 2029 that lands him right in the Stafford-Lawrence-Allen tier of starting quarterbacks. Rick and Steve unpack how the deal is structured, why cooler heads prevailed after Baker's training-camp \"disrespectful offer\" comments, and why the real pressure starts now — Baker has just one playoff win as a Buc, and it's time for the wins to start piling up if he wants to be remembered for more than the paycheck.
Then it's over to the Rays, who took game one in Atlanta 7-1 behind a strong start from Freddy Peralta and a monster night from the lineup: Junior Caminero's AL-leading 39th home run (in his literal hometown), Chandler Simpson's 40th stolen base, and homers from Yandy Diaz, Richie Palacios and Liam Hicks. Tampa Bay's magic number is down to 15 with an 18-games to play with a four-game lead over the Yankees, even as Taylor Walls heads to the IL. Plus: the NFL season finally kicks off tonight with a rematch of last year's Super Bowl, LSU's wild standoff with the SEC over roster rules, and Jameis Winston's new (and very self-aware) commercial.
In this episode:
#TampaBayBucs #BakerMayfield #TampaBayRays #NFL #MLB
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